Leaders at IPS arts magnet say becoming an “innovation” school will add even more art to the day

At Edison School of the Arts, elementary students can join a drum ensemble, master drawing or star in a musical. But some educators at the popular magnet school say that’s not enough.

They want math and reading teachers to build the art into their courses. They want the arts filtered into science and social studies.

That’s why the K-8 school is angling to become one of the first Indianapolis Public Schools allowed to adopt a new governance model, free from the mandates that the district imposes on most of its schools.

“Our arts teachers are fantastic and our academic teachers are fantastic,” principal Nathan Tuttle told the Indianapolis Public Schools board at a meeting earlier this month. “But we do not implement full arts integration in the academic classroom as it stands right now, because there’s not a lot of funding to train all of our academic teachers in arts integration.”

The innovation school model, which gives principals many of the flexibilities of charter schools but keeps the school within IPS, was introduced in the district last year.

Innovation schools leaders have full control over their funding, so they can make choices like what curriculum to use and what teacher training fits their needs. The teachers are not unionized, however, which is controversial and allows leaders to make decisions like extending the school day without negotiating with a union.

The move would be the latest big change for the arts magnet school, which recently moved from the north side to the southwest side and added middle school grades. At least some teachers and parents are eager for the school to have the freedom that would come with the conversion.

Kathy Gaalema, a second-grade teacher who has worked in the district for 33 years, told the board she supports the plan because it could give teachers more time to focus on art in academic classes and more tailored training.

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“Being an innovation school would allow great opportunities for us,” she said.

Candace Kingma, a parent and president of the parent-teacher organization at Edison, also told the board that she trusts the school leadership and supports the change.

“An arts education can enhance a child’s overall learning,” she said. “It’s also my belief that a move to an innovation school will greatly enhance our arts program.”

Edison is looking to convert to innovation status voluntarily beginning next fall. It’s still early in the process, and the board is not expected to make a decision for several months. If the school is converted to innovation status, it would be overseen by a nonprofit board Tuttle is currently assembling. The IPS board would cede day-to-day control, but it would be able to cancel or renew the agreement based on the school’s performance.

Edison would be only the third IPS school to convert to innovation status by choice. Although there are several existing innovation schools in the district, they are largely charter schools that joined the network or failing schools that were restarted with new managers.

Innovation schools are part of a broader vision for the district that aims to give all principals more power over how schools are run. Aleesia Johnson, who oversees innovation schools, said the long-term goal is to create better performing schools across IPS.

“When the people who are most connected and closest to our students and families have the ability to make decisions,” she said, “that will positively impact the experience our students have.”

Indiana is examining how teachers are divided up among schools as part of its work on a new education plan to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. The new law focuses more on on equity and inclusivity, something civil rights advocates and state officials have praised.

“We have a lot of kids in Indiana who don’t have access to quality teachers,” said Indiana State Board of Education member David Freitas. “ESSA says we have to specifically address that.”

According to the state’s education plan, poor students and students of color in Title I schools (those that receive extra federal aid based on rates of poverty) are more likely than their affluent, white peers to have teachers who are ineffective, inexperienced and don’t meet Indiana certification requirements.

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Poor students are 3.7 times more likely to have ineffective teachers; Students of color are 8.5 times more likely;

Both poor students and students of color are slightly more likely to have teachers who don’t meet certification requirements;

Poor students are 1.54 times more likely to have inexperienced teachers; Students of color are 1.63 times more likely;

Both poor students and students of color are slightly less likely to have highly effective or effective teachers.

Despite the relative differences in teacher experience and quality in the list above, it’s worth noting that 88 percent of Indiana’s 68,386 teachers were rated “effective” or “highly effective” in 2015 (the most recent data available), with just 0.38 percent rated “ineffective.”

State officials said there could be many reasons why low-rated teachers tend to be more present in high-poverty, predominantly non-white schools. Those schools might not be able to pay teachers as much or offer them as much support, making it harder to attract more experienced educators.

But groups of educators, policymakers and community members who worked with state officials to draft the plan focused on issues of training and support, leading the state to develop a number of strategies to pursue going forward that could help keep good teachers in the classroom. Those strategies could include extending student teaching, overhauling performance evaluations to focus more on improvement rather than simple ratings and helping districts access funding to improve ongoing teacher training.

This struggle is not new to Indiana — teacher-related discussions for the past several years have focused on recruiting and retaining teachers. So far, legislative progress has been slow. Some bills championing prospective teacher scholarships and mentoring programs have won approval, but they have received relatively small amounts of funding, if any.

By 2023, Indiana education officials have a goal to cut the inequitable rates of teacher experience and quality in half.

The Indiana Department of Education submitted the ESSA plan to Gov. Eric Holcomb for approval earlier this week. It is due to federal officials in September.

In departure from Trump, Betsy DeVos calls out ‘racist bigots’ in Charlottesville

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos condemned “white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other racist bigots” in an email to her staff Thursday — without mentioning President Trump, whose equivocal stance on the racist violence in Charlottesville last weekend has drawn widespread criticism.

“While we should be anticipating and celebrating students’ returns to campuses across the country, we are engaged in a national discussion that has stirred ugly, hate-filled conversations and reopened hurtful wounds from shameful portions of our nation’s past,” DeVos wrote.

The letter was more pointed — describing the racist views as “cowardly, hateful and just plain wrong” — than DeVos’ initial tweets on the events. She has been silent since those posts until now.

I'm disgusted by the behavior and hate-filled rhetoric displayed near the University of Virginia in #Charlottesville (1/2)

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In her email to staff, she emphasized that individuals, and schools, had a part in combating hatred.

“We can all play a role. Mentor a student. Volunteer at a school. Lend a helping hand and offer a listening ear,” she wrote.

But DeVos did not specify what role, if any, the department’s policymaking would play. She has received persistent criticism from civil rights groups for proposed federal budget cuts, her stance on discrimination of LGBT students, and her appointment to head the Office of Civil Rights. (DeVos specifically notes that, “Our Department, and particularly the Office for Civil Rights, exists to ensure all students have equal access to a safe, nurturing, quality learning environment free from discrimination or intimidation.”)

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Meanwhile, criticism of Trump and Devos from education advocates has intensified in recent days.

New York City charter school leader Eva Moskowitz — who was initially considered for the job DeVos now holds, and who led Ivanka Trump on a school tour — released a strongly worded letter condemning the Trump administration (though she did not mention DeVos). On Twitter, Kevin Huffman, the charter-friendly former Tennessee education commissioner, called on DeVos to resign, saying, “It is not viable to serve all kids under a POTUS who defends and encourages white supremacy.”

This is on top of persistent hostility from many left-of-center charter advocates, including one of DeVos’s predecessors, Arne Duncan, who called bumps in federal spending for charters “blood money” if they came alongside to Trump’s proposed cuts to education.

The note was sent to staff, rather than posted as a press release. DeVos has not been shy in the past about weighing in on topics beyond education — she quickly issued a statement praising Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate change agreement, for example.

Here’s the text of her letter:

Team,

I write today with a heavy heart for our country. While we should be anticipating and celebrating students’ returns to campuses across the country, we are engaged in a national discussion that has stirred ugly, hate-filled conversations and reopened hurtful wounds from shameful portions of our nation’s past.

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There is fear, pain, anger, disappointment, discouragement and embarrassment across America, and I know, too, here within the Department.

Last weekend’s tragic and unthinkable events in Charlottesville, which stole three innocent lives and injured many more, were wholly unacceptable. The views of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other racist bigots are totally abhorrent to the American ideal. We all have a role to play in rejecting views that pit one group of people against another. Such views are cowardly, hateful and just plain wrong.

This is what makes our work so important. Our Department, and particularly the Office for Civil Rights, exists to ensure all students have equal access to a safe, nurturing, quality learning environment free from discrimination or intimidation.

Our own difficult history reminds us that we must confront, head-on, problems when and where they exist with moral clarity and conviction. Our nation is greater than what it has shown in recent days.

Violence and hate will never be the answer. We must engage, debate and educate. We must remind all what it means to be an American, and while far from perfect, we must never lose sight that America still stands as the brightest beacon for freedom in the world.

My hope is that we will use this as an opportunity to show that what unites and holds America together is far stronger than what seeks to divide and draw us apart. We can all play a role. Mentor a student. Volunteer at a school. Lend a helping hand and offer a listening ear.

Our work is truly the bridge to a stronger future. Let’s recommit ourselves to ensuring the future is brighter for all.